A Broken Voice and a Broken Heart
by boionbike
Summary: Their last mission left them scarred for life, but maybe they will find solace in each other. Tom/Lucy romance-military fic that follows their battles and relationship after Operation: TORPEDO. Starts with the battle of New Llanelli.
1. Prologue

Author's note:  
So this is the first story I have ever published so I'm sorry for any mistakes.

This will be a Tom/Lucy romance story focusing on them after Operation: TORPEDO  
This is the epilogue, the later chapters will be longer.  
I'm not sure yet how frequently will do updates, but I'm trying my best. Reviews follows and favorites will encourage me to write more!  
I'm really a beginner at this so feel free to give me advice or criticism.

And for safety reasons: I do not own Halo.

* * *

 **Prologue**

The Covenant Fleet of _Righteous Vigilance_ started sieging the colony world of New Llanelli in the 18th of December 2546, they were after an ancient artifact that they ascribe to their Forerunner gods. The UNSC forces stationed on the planet had been desperately trying to repel the attackers but their numbers were weak and supplies were dwindling. Fighting on the planet has been going on for 2 weeks with the UNSC losing ground every day. Most of the planet was lost and only handful pockets of resistance remained. The only place spared from destruction was the city of Béliot. A medium sized settlement in the northern hemisphere that included the only intact space elevator on the planet and the last remaining major UNSC force in the region.

Upon receiving the news of the Covenant attack on New Llanelli the Unified Earth Government sent UNSC _Battlegroup November_ to help with the evacuation of the planet before its impending destruction. With the battlegroup arrived the carrier _All Under Heaven._ The ship, that had only recently returned from its previous mission, Operation: TORPEDO, carried the two survivors of Pegasi Delta Tom-B292 and Lucy-B091.

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Please review the story it means a lot! :)


	2. Chapter 1

Author's note:

A change to Halo canon I forgot to mention: In my version, Tom and Lucy will be 16 years old in 2546 instead of 14, this will make the story more appropriate after all this is a romance fiction. Other than that I am trying to stay as close to canon as possible.

This chapter introduces some OCs but I hope it's not a big problem.

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

* * *

 **0856 HOURS, DECEMBER 18, 2546 \ BRUNELS SYSTEM, NEW LLANELLI, THE CITY OF BÉLIOT**

". . . wake up Clifford, wake up Goddammit, there is a bloody battle going on out here!"

Corporal Natalie Clifford awoke to her lieutenant shouting in her face while she was lying on the ground. She did not know why she was there or what happened before she became unconscious, the only thing she remembered was an explosion and then everything went black.

"I'm . . . I'm okay sir, just a bit lightheaded," she said trying to sit up while brushing the mud and half-molten snow off her visor. Natalie scrambled for her SRS99 sniper rifle, but couldn't find the weapon. She must have lost it in the blast.

She looked at Lieutenant Miller, confused, "Sir I . . . I think I got a concussion would you please tell me what the hell is going on h—."

Before she could finish her sentence a Covenant Seraph fighter whizzed over her head releasing its plasma charges. Flames erupted only a few meters away from Natalie and burning heat flushed over her. Her instincts kicked in and she immediately sprinted towards the nearest cover. From where Natalie stood it somewhat resembled a foxhole. She stumbled on the edge and fell into it, splashing down headfirst into a pool of mud.

Now she remembered everything. The 33rd Marine Regiment was trying to fend off the Covenant attack on Béliot since the beginning of their invasion on the planet. They were successful so far but the attacks grew stronger and stronger as time went by. The unit sustained heavy casualties over the days of fighting and munition was running low. Natalie's company took the brunt of it, after all, they got tasked with one of the hardest missions: to hold the southern main road that entered the city.

Only now did Natalie realize that she was not alone in the foxhole. "Graceful landing as always Nat," said her squadmate, Corporal Shawn Cowden, laughing "It's good to have you back, you were out cold for a few minutes." Right after he said that Shawn popped out of cover to fire a quick burst of his MA5B assault rifle.

"Just shut up and tell me already what the hell is going on," shouted Natalie over the gunfire "I don't even know what happened to me, the only thing I remember is the Lieutenant shouting at me to get my ass up."

Shawn plopped back down into the foxhole and started reloading his weapon. "Well the Covvies launched another attack at 0600, this the biggest one yet, we have been getting our asses kicked for the past few hours," he said, in a surprisingly happy tone for the current situation. "But at least EVAC is coming and we are finally getting off this godforsaken planet." He finished reloading his assault rifle and was about to fire again but he turned back to Natalie, "We only have to hold them back for like 4 to 5 hours," he told her with a nervous laugh.

" _Great,_ " Natalie thought to herself, " _now I only have to find a weapon._ "

* * *

 **0832 HOURS, DECEMBER 18, 2546 \ BRUNELS SYSTEM, ABOVE NEW LLANELLI, UNSC ALL UNDER HEAVEN**

Spartan Tom-B292 woke up to the feeling of his body warming up and blood going back to his limbs. The door of his cryo pod opened exposing him to the blinding lights outside. He stumbled out and almost fell to his knees. Tom had always hated cryosleep he felt disoriented and weak after waking up.

Tom looked around himself and his heart sank. He saw 300 cryo pods, 300 _empty_ cryo pods, and no one else in the cryo bay. Memories started to gather in his head. He recalled Pegasi Delta: the landing, his comrades falling beside him while trying to take the factory, the order to execute Omega three, team Foxtrot's attack on the reactor, Adam, Min and he remembered . . . Lucy. A slight bit of happiness reached his mind.

Tom knew Lucy had survived all this mess and that gave him some relief. He wasn't alone. He had a friend with him, his _best_ friend and maybe they could get through this tragedy together.

* * *

 _To be continued . . ._

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Thanks for reading the first actual chapter of the story! This turned out a little bit shorter than I thought it would, I'll try to make the later chapters longer.

If you have any questions, ideas or advice on how to improve my writing please tell me.

Reviews are always appreciated. :)


	3. Chapter 2

Author's note:

Thanks for reading my story! So far it made more traffic than I thought it would I'm really happy about it, so thanks!

Also, the dates in the prologue were wrong because I forgot to change them when I made chapter 1 with different dates but it is fixed now.

I think you already guessed it but if a dialogue is in _italic_ those are the thoughts of the character.  
I also tried to break up the articles more. I don't know if it's good or bad so please give your opinion on it.

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

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 **0834 HOURS, DECEMBER 18, 2546 \ BRUNELS SYSTEM, ABOVE NEW LLANELLI, UNSC ALL UNDER HEAVEN, CRYO BAY**

Tom's mind went back and relived TORPEDO again and again. They all knew what would happen, that it was an impossible mission, but still, it shook him. But if it was supposed to be a suicide OP, then why is he still alive? He was not sure, it must have been pure luck.

Tom only realized that he had been staring at the floor for two minutes when he heard the beeping sound of his COM unit. He scolded himself for being so deep in thought that he forgot about his surroundings.

"Spartan B292 report at Admiral Stafford's office at once," an AI's voice said.

The reason for the Admiral's order was unknown to Tom. The debriefing had been already done for TORPEDO, in reality, a debriefing wasn't even needed, the operation was a complete success and no one expected survivors in the first place.

Maybe it was information about their next mission or a retirement offer. He chuckled at that last thought. " _Like they would ever let us retire._ "

There was one more question echoing through his head. _Where was Lucy?_

They were separated right after disembarking from the Black Cat Prowler. Both of them were yanked away by the medical crew and taken into different rooms. The doctors did the usual check-ups, put Tom up on a hospital bed, injected him with sedatives and the next thing he knows he is in a cryo-pod.

Finding Lucy had to wait though, now he has orders to complete. He took a quick shower put on his service uniform and headed down the hallway.

As he was walking down the corridors, the people were giving him weird looks. They probably knew who he was. No matter how hard ONI tried to classify the Spartan-III's existence the ship's crew eventually found out who the 300 mysterious soldiers were, and that only two of them returned from their last mission.

He finally arrived at Admiral Stafford's office.

* * *

 _ **1155 HOURS, JULY 3, 2545 \ 51 PEGASI-B SYSTEM, PLANET PEGASI DELTA, COVENANT REFINERY**_

 _Lucy looked back at the factory and then to Tom. She offered her hand._

 _He took it._

 _They jumped._

 _While falling, Lucy felt like a rock in her SPI armor. She straightened herself as much as possible before the impact. She let go of Tom's hand, tensed her muscles and splashed down into the water._

 _Saltwater filled her helmet making Lucy choke. She paddled to the surface pushed her helmet's release and pulled it off. She was struggling to stay above water. As if swimming in armor wasn't already difficult enough, it started to fill with water weighing her down._

 _Lucy looked around but couldn't find Tom. She went underwater trying to look for him but it was hard to see in the murky water and the salt was blurring her vision. She finally spotted him. He was sinking, motionless. Fear overwhelmed Lucy. She tried to swim down and reach him, but Tom was already too far._

 _She wanted to scream but water absorbed her voice._

 _Seconds later Tom was engulfed by the abyss._

* * *

 **0756 HOURS, DECEMBER 18, 2546 \ BRUNELS SYSTEM, ABOVE NEW LLANELLI, UNSC ALL UNDER HEAVEN, MEDICAL BAY**

" _Tom!"_

Lucy's eyes shot open.

Blinding lights obscured her vision. She realized she was lying on a bed. She tried to get up but couldn't, her arms and legs were restrained. Lucy tried to wrestle out of the bindings' grip to no avail.

Her heartbeat sped up. The only sound she could hear was the erratic beeping of hospital equipment.

" _Where the hell I am? What is going on?"_

Lucy started twitching and struggling even more. She was desperately trying to get out of the restrains.

" _What's happening to me? The Covenant. The reactor. I have to get out!"_

Lucy finally managed to free one of her hands by tearing the strap in half. She yanked her other hand so hard the strap's base broke out from the bed. The momentum of her action made the bed tilt to the right and fall over, ripping IV tubes out of her arm, making her bleed.

She tried to get up from the floor but her legs were still tied to the bed.

Suddenly a doctor entered the room with two marines on her side. They were struck dumb by the sight before them. The small girl sitting in a pool of blood trying to break free from the bed. No one expected someone who looked so fragile to break the restraints.

The soldiers rushed to Lucy and held her down until the doctor arrived with a syringe. She stabbed the Spartan with the needle releasing sedatives into her body.

Lucy's vision blurred and her body started to numb. As the medicine kicked in, she slowly started to drift off to sleep.

* * *

 _To be continued . . ._

* * *

Thanks for reading! This chapter started the Spartans storyline, the romance stuff will be kind of a slow burn, but I hope it's not a problem.

This is also a short chapter but I wanted to post it as soon as possible.

If you have any questions, ideas or advice on how to improve my writing please tell me.

Reviews are always appreciated. :)


	4. Chapter 3

Sorry for not updating this for such a long time, I didn't really have the motivation to do it, but from now on I'll try to update regularly.

Thanks for the reviews!

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

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 **0834 HOURS, DECEMBER 18, 2546 \ BRUNELS SYSTEM, ABOVE NEW LLANELLI, UNSC ALL UNDER HEAVEN, OFFICER DECK**

The door to Admiral Stafford's office slid open. Tom stepped inside.

The Admiral was sitting at his desk looking at a data pad. He looked deep in thought.

Tom stood at attention and saluted. "Spartan-B292 reporting for duty, Sir," he said in a confident tone. The Admiral looked up at Tom.

"At ease, soldier." He sloppily returned the salute and motioned to a chair in front of the desk.

Tom accepted the offer and sat down.

Admiral Stafford cleared his throat. "The STARS images came in from Pegasi Delta," he started, "Operation: TORPEDO was an outstanding success, Beta company destroyed the shipyard and a Covenant fleet in the process." He paused for a second and swallowed. "Even with casualty rates like this, it is a huge victory for the UNSC, honestly we were surprised that the two of you came back, but we are glad, really glad. You Spartans are the best asset we have."

His expression abruptly changed to sympathetic, like he went from a superior officer to some kind of strange father figure. "Look, I know what happened was terrible, someone your age shouldn't even be fighting, but we are thankful for what you did."

"Thank you sir, it was my duty," said Tom plainly.

"Now for the bad news, we are currently orbiting the colony of New Llanelli. The Covenant have been sieging the planet for weeks, the interesting thing is that they are not simply glassing it. Something they want is down there and we have to find out what that is. The concentration of their attack is the capital, Béliot."

Tom nodded to signal that he got the information.

"Our forces in the city are struggling and we can't afford to lose it," he continued. "And that is where you come into the picture, we need every available unit to help defend the capital."

"I know this is a lot to ask after what happened but the marines in Béliot could use any help." The Admiral let out a sigh, "And please remember, you can turn this down any time, you had already done enough for the UNSC."

Tom was surprised by the Admiral's request, mostly because it wasn't an order. He thought about declining for a moment but then realized this is what he was trained for, to help humanity against the Covenant. Even though Operation: TORPEDO left its mark in him he could still fight and revenge his fallen brothers and sisters.

"I'll do it, Admiral," he said proudly, no hint of regret in his voice.

The Admiral gave him a slight smile. "Well then, find Captain Reynolds, he will brief you about your deployment. Dismissed soldier," he replied with a salute.

Tom returned the gesture and was about to leave but then he turned back. "Sir, if I may ask, where is Spartan-B091?"

"She is in the medbay, she was pulled out of cryo earlier due to medical reason but she is okay now. She is not combat ready though," the Admiral told him.

Tom felt relief wash over him, so Lucy is fine after all. "Thank you Sir." He saluted and walked out of the office.

After Tom left the room a woman materialized on the Admiral's desk. She was wearing combat boots and a leather jacket. Her hair was cut into a mohawk. Her hands were on her hips and she had the _I told you so_ look on her face.

"I told you he would accept," Nayla, the ship's AI, said with a sly smile.

"Figures," the Admiral paused, "he was bred for war after all." Stafford sighed. "Why the hell are we even using child soldiers." He was clearly angry. "The kid is only 16 for God's sake."

He opened one of his drawers and took out a small wooden cigar box. It has been empty for a long time, resupplies were declining in the past years, especially luxuries. He only kept it around because it reminded him of home.

"Well, you are the one who is sending him down to that planet," Nayla retorted. "And you should know that the girl would want to go with him."

"I was expecting that . . ."

Stafford put the cigar box back into the drawer and stood up. "Get me a status update from Captain Reynolds, we have to start deploying troops soon."

* * *

Tom was stopped by a doctor before he could enter Lucy's hospital room.

"Sorry to interrupt," the woman said. Her name was Jane Matthews according to her name table. _"No insignia, so she is a civ,"_ he thought. "You are Tom, right? The other Spartan," she asked.

Tom only nodded. The woman was clearly nervous around him, she probably hasn't met a lot of Spartans.

"Before you go in there," she started, " you should know that she is quite unstable, when she woke up she tried to escape, we had to sedate her."

"I'll manage," Tom said with a half-smile and headed for the door.

"Wait!" the doctor pulled him back by his arm. He turned around at such pace and force that it startled the women. _"Mental note: I probably shouldn't yank bioengineered child psychos around, yes that would be a good idea,"_ she scolded herself. "Uhm . . . sorry about that but there is some bad news."

Tom looked at the doctor, confused. "But Admiral Stafford said that she was healthy. I had seen her after the mission, she only had minor injuries."

"Well," Jane started, "physically she is perfectly fine but mentally . . . it's not looking too good." She paused for a second and swallowed. "Before Lucy was put in cryo she was diagnosed with posttraumatic vocal disarticulation. She won't say a word."

Tom was shocked. _"No this can't happen to her, she's stronger than this."_ He started to feel worried.

He nervously opened the door.

Lucy was lying in a hospital bed on the far side of the room. She was hooked up to several medical machines, with tubes coming out of her arms and body. She looked so peaceful yet fragile, Lucy was always one of the smallest S-llls. Tom slowly walked closer. The only sounds he heard was her breathing and the steady beeping of the heart monitor.

Tom sat down on the bed next to her. He leaned over her and hesitantly brushed a strain hair out of her face, he never noticed how long Lucy's hair had grown, it was way out of regulations. Her black hair complemented her pale complexion nicely. Tom only noticed now that she looked kind of . . . beautiful. He suddenly felt a bit weird, he never thought of her in that way. He quickly pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind.

Suddenly, Lucy's eyes shot open.

* * *

 _To be continued . . ._

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Thanks for reading!

I know the story I kind of slow but in the next few chapters, the battle of Béliot should start. And I honestly don't know why I made the AI punk, sort of just felt like it.

Next chapter should be up in a week at most.

STARS stands for Stealth Tactical Aerial Reconnaissance Satellite (it was mentioned in Ghosts of Onyx)

Please give your opinion about the story, reviews are always appreciated!


	5. Chapter 4

Hello guys!  
This chapter will focus on OCs I hope it's not a problem but I had some ideas and I want their story to tie in with the Spartan's later.

Res0rection thanks for the kind review it really made my day!

Enjoy the chapter!

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 **Chapter 4**

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 **09** **08** **HOURS, DECEMBER 18, 2546 \ BRUNELS SYSTEM, NEW LLANELLI, THE CITY OF BÉLIOT, THE DEFENSIVE POSITION OF 1** **ST** **PLATOON, FOX COMPANY**

. . . After minutes of crawling in mud from cover to cover, Natalie finally reached her destination. The building that housed the majority of her platoon and supplies. Here was her best chance to find a weapon. The distinct noise of an M247 machine gun firing could be heard from upstairs. _"At least I'm at the right place."_ She stepped into the house, or what was left of it, at this point it was probably more holes than walls.

Natalie headed for the basement where ammunition and weapons were stored. To her surprise, no one was on the ground floor. _"This is supposed to be platoon HQ, where the hell is everybody?"_ She opened the door leading to the stairway. She cautiously looked around before going in. As she stepped in she noticed a splatter of purple blood on the wall. "Shit, this can't be good," she whispered to herself.

" _Of course this is when I don't have a weapon."_ Still being mad at herself for losing her rifle Natalie pulled out her combat knife and carefully walked down the steps. Stopping in front of the door to gather herself she noticed the noise of muffled radio chatter coming from inside. Someone is in the room, or _was_. She put her hand on the handle and slowly opened the door and peeked inside.

Natalie's heart skipped a beat when she found herself facing the barrel of an M6 handgun. She recoiled and fell back.

"Jesus Christ Natalie it's you, we thought you were dead." The pistol belonged to her squad's radio specialist, Lance Corporal Ethan Webster. He offered her a hand.

"Yep, it's me in all my glory. Thanks for almost shooting me in the head by the way." She took his hand and stood up.

Ethan pulled Natalie in the room and shut the door behind them.

"Sorry about that, I'm a bit on edge." He pointed to a corner where the bodies of two Jackals were piled. "I had a few visitors earlier."

Natalie was surprised, what were Jackals doing here? "How the hell did they get trough or lines? And where is 1st platoon anyway?" she asked, concerned. "The whole building is empty, except for the 247 upstairs and you."

The radioman chuckled. "We don't really have 'lines' anymore. Our platoon pulled out around 30 minutes ago. We got the beautiful task of playing rearguard." He paused for a moment and changed to a more serious tone. "Our whole defense is collapsing, and not just in our sector, in the whole city. I'm trying to radio 2nd platoon or Company HQ but nothing comes through except static."

He sat back at his table and typed something into a datapad then continued.

"2nd platoon got their ass kicked on our right flank and were trying to retreat when I last heard of them. We lost contact with 3rd platoon hours ago, they got encircled a few blocks east while trying to retreat, so our left flank is nonexistent. Gamma company basically vanished as a whole. The last time I could contact any type of air support was yesterday. Our last Scorpion is missing two of the four tracks. Artillery is out of ammo. And our field hospital consists of a three panicked medics, about two morphine syrettes and way too many wounded." He got faster and faster as he spoke.

Natalie was speechless. She expected the situation to be bad, but not this hopeless. She tried to say something but got cut off by Ethan.

"Our part of the front is the only one holding and that's because the Covvies don't know how few of us is actually left." He finished and took a deep breath after the monologue.

Natalie was afraid of asking the question but she knew she had to. Already scared of the answer she asked, "How few is 'few' exactly?"

"Well, Shawn is out there with Doc trying to gather medical equipment. Martinez and Sarge are on the second floor with the 247 and I'm sitting down here with my two Jackal buddies shouting at the radio, they are not the best company though," he answered with a weak smile. Ethan was clearly trying to hide the fact that he was also worried.

"Shit. . ." Natalie didn't know what to say. "We are fucked."

"Yes we are," he agreed.

An uncomfortable silence settled on them. Natalie was trying to gather her thoughts.

Suddenly the radio came to life. _"Etha— do you read me? Pick up the godda— radio!"_ It was Shawn, he sounded flustered. Gunfire could be heard from the background and he was most likely running.

Ethan quickly picked up the radio. "I hear you, you're cutting out but it's fine. Give me a sitrep!" He already knew from Shawn's voice that something was wrong.

" _They are coming. A lot. And mean a LOT, with tanks and shit. I think they finally noticed that the only thing holding them back is a machine gun."_ A loud explosion could be heard and the radio cut out for a moment. _"Doc got hit pretty bad but he'll be fine. He is unconscious though. I am trying to get to you ASAP."_ He was panting at this point from carrying Doc around.

"Try to hurry, most of the platoon already pulled out, our squad is the last one in," came the answer from Ethan.

" _Trying my best here."_ He paused for a moment. _"Have Natalie found you? She was heading to you for equipment."_

Ethan tried to answer but Natalie took the radio from him.

"Yes I'm here and fine, try to get back in one piece please," she told Shawn.

" _Good to hear that! I'll be there in a few minutes."_

He disconnected the call.

"Okay, its time for us to pack up too," said Ethan. He motioned to the radio on his desk, "The long-range will have to stay here, we can't carry it, I'll set a satchel charge, we'll blow it up after we leave,"he said, disappointed. It was protocol to destroy all left behind equipment, even though no one knew if the Covenant could do anything with it. "At least we have enough explosives to waste it on this."

"Do you have any spare weapons?" asked Natalie. "Preferably an SR, I've lost mine when I almost got blown up."

"There are no snipers left, all I can offer you is a DMR. There's one next to the ammo create," said Ethan while setting up the satchel.

Natalie picked up the weapon quickly loaded it and got herself some spare magazines. She also filled a backpack with various types of ammunition and grenades, they'll need it later. Now she felt battle ready.

"I think I'm ready to move out," she told Ethan. He finished setting up the explosive."I'm also good to go," he answered.

"Oh wait, one more thing!" He threw a disk-shaped device at Natalie. "A Jackal shield. It could be useful later."

She caught it and carefully inspected the alien tech. She activated it and was pleased with the results, the shield came to life. Natalie deactivated it and put it in her vest. "Thanks."

"Okay let's get Sarge and Martinez and get the hell out of this place!"

* * *

 _To be continued . . ._

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Thanks for reading the chapter I hope you enjoyed!  
I'm trying my best to update faster, next one should be up in a week at most and it will focus on the Tom and Lucy.  
Reviews are always appreciated!


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